The present invention is a computer-based method and system for inferring a location of a mobile computing device based on wireless and/or wired devices available for connection to the mobile computing device.
Computing devices are often connected to each other via wireless and wired networks. For example, mobile computing devices, such as laptop computers, often look for and connect to wireless networks as they are transported from one location to another. To enable such connections, a variety of standards have been developed to govern how communications between the computing devices take place, including, for example, 802.11, Ultra Wideband (UWB) standards, and Bluetooth®. (Bluetooth® is a registered trademark of Bluetooth Sig, Inc. of Bellevue, Wash.) Each standard ultimately defines a way for two computing devices to exchange information wirelessly using a transmitter and a receiver (i.e., a radio) on each device, but the standards vary with respect to the technical characteristics of the communications (e.g., the frequency band, power, and modulation techniques). Each standard also guarantees that each device has an identifier that is unique for the medium through which it is communicating.
Since mobile computing devices operate in various locations, “knowing” the location of the mobile computing device at any given time may enable many useful applications and features, but pinpointing the location at a given time can prove difficult. With respect to “location,” it is not necessarily important where the mobile computing device is on the Earth, but rather where it is located relative to other devices and networks with which it may interact or communicate. For example, it not necessary for the mobile computing device to know where a particular office is on the Earth, but it is useful for it to know that it is near a certain printer or file server within that office.